Why stress is good for university students
As a university student you will be under a lot of stress as
you will be in a lot of very stressful situations where it’s do or die. These
situations include tests, assignment submissions, project hand in’s, practical’s
and examinations, sometimes the stressful situation is just before
consolidation week and you are stressing about whether you will get DP or not.
The whole point of university and all the assessments is to put you under stress to see if you can handle it, that is why exams are time sensitive. They
are preparing you for the real world of deadlines, where you will deal with
clients and your performance on each work project will determine whether the
client returns or not, whether you are fired or promoted. The better you are at
handling pressure and stressful situations the more you will be able to cope in
the real world. Before we get to the real world I will give you a few examples
to show you why stress may be good for you as a student as long as you don’t
break down. Whenever you feel the pressure is getting too much for you, you
must talk to someone (universities often have student wellness services centres
for student to talk to qualified people).
The guy who stresses vs the “chilled” guy
It’s better to be that guy who is always stressing long
before an exam than to be that guy who is too chilled and stresses at the last
minute. The guy who stresses early over studies long before the exam and has a
higher chance of doing well. The guy who is too chilled will most likely study
last minute and probably doesn’t even finish studying all the sections, if he
stresses during the test or exam it’s late for him.
The guy who stresses double checks his work and makes sure
they understand the concept being taught, they attend all classes out of fear
of failing, the chilled guy does not fear failure and does not think much of it
until the results come back. The stressor gets higher marks than he expected
but it’s explainable since he covers all his bases.
The guy who stresses fears that they will not make the
deadline and so he works ahead of schedule and can sleep the night before
whereas the guy who is too chilled has to pull all-nighters before a submission
to make up for his earlier lack of urgency.
The guy who stresses has never failed a course, he thinks he
is lucky but it’s not luck but his stressful nature pushes him to be ahead or
else he will start panicking. The chilled guy is doing alright but has had to
repeat a few courses because sometimes the last minute thing doesn’t work out,
and that section you forgot to study may just be the section worth the most
marks in the exam.
Anyways these are examples of good stress, there are types
of stresses which are not good for your health, if you are the type to pass out
during an exam you definitely need to get that sorted out. If you are the sort
that thinks failure is the end of the world you need to change your world view
as it leads to fatal decisions (Do you know how many students have committed
suicide at the end of the year?! There are even helplines at universities now).
Failure is an opportunity to stand up again when you fall and next time
approach the situation with more wisdom from the experience of your previous
failure. Sometimes we are so scared of our parents and communities back at home
that we cannot see that whatever happens life will move on and if we live
another day we could still figure something out. Life is a roller-coaster, we
must enjoy its highs and endure its lows. Stress and failure are a part of
living as much as success and happiness.
